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TrueCrypt speeds up

The developers of TrueCrypt, the open source encryption utility have published Version 5.1, which they say contains many improvements in detail. TrueCrypt 5.1 also fixes several non-critical errors in its versions for all supported operating systems.

The most obvious changes include support for hibernation on encrypted system partitions, the lack of which was criticised by many users. TrueCrypt 5.1 can now handle that, and has restored the command-line options for creating new encrypted volumes in the Linux and Mac versions. The new version can now also link to volumes on other encrypted system partitions.

The Windows version is purported to accelerate AES encryption and decryption by 30 to 90 per cent. Starting encrypted system partitions is also said to have been speeded up. The developers have compressed the Boot Loader so that a backup copy is stored in the first drive cylinder of the hard disk and is used automatically if the original Boot Loader is destroyed by other programs storing information there.

The BIOS reserves too much memory on some systems, preventing the encryption of system drives and partitions. The Boot Loader now overcomes that problem by requiring only 27 instead of 42 kilobytes of memory. The developers have also eliminated many small errors, though they do not list them in the change log.